Apocaholics Anonymous: Join to Fight Disaster Addiction

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Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around the concept of "disaster addiction," particularly in relation to past events like Y2K and the implications of preparedness for potential disasters. Participants share personal experiences, historical examples, and reflections on societal responses to perceived threats, exploring both the psychological and practical aspects of disaster anticipation and management.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory
  • Debate/contested
  • Conceptual clarification
  • Historical

Main Points Raised

  • Some participants share personal narratives about overcoming a tendency to fear impending disasters, suggesting that historical perspective can help mitigate anxiety.
  • One participant discusses the Y2K incident, noting that some military systems were vulnerable during the transition, raising concerns about preparedness and redundancy in defense systems.
  • Another participant questions the design of military systems, implying that redundancy may not have been adequately implemented, while others humorously dismiss the need for such systems as fear-mongering.
  • There is a mention of a significant Y2K-related glitch involving a Pentagon satellite guidance system, with some uncertainty about the details and public disclosure of the incident.
  • Participants reflect on the economic implications of computer errors, using examples like the Connecticut DMV's registration issues to illustrate how such glitches can disrupt services.
  • Some argue that while disaster preparedness is important, overreactions can lead to wasted resources that detract from addressing ongoing issues.
  • One participant references a report on global warming, suggesting that it is a pressing issue that warrants attention and action.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants express a mix of viewpoints regarding the necessity and effectiveness of disaster preparedness. While some emphasize the importance of addressing potential threats, others caution against overreacting and misallocating resources. The discussion remains unresolved with multiple competing views on how to approach disaster anticipation.

Contextual Notes

Participants express uncertainty about specific details of the Y2K incidents and their implications, highlighting a lack of consensus on the effectiveness of preparedness measures and the psychological impacts of disaster anticipation.

Andre
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Fight the fear of the future, the disaster addiction, and join

http://www.godward.org/commentary/Out of the Box/Apocaholics Anonymous.htm

Hi, I’m Gary and I’m a recovering Apocaholic. I am currently Apocalypse free for nearly 18 years. I left the church of the Religious Apocalypse in 1976, over 30 years ago, and I resigned from the secular church of the Financial Apocalypse in 1989. Yes, I still feel the urge to proclaim the end of all things, from time to time, but I white-knuckle my way to a history book for a little perspective, and then I breathe easier. If you wish to join AA, the only requirement is that you give up the adrenaline rush of media-fed fantasies...cont'd
 
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Funny thing about Y2K: One or some of the fixes used to correct some military computers caused part of our defenses to go blind, leaving us completely vulnerable to a nuclear missile attack. IIRC, the systems were offline for about 7 hours.

The real lesson with Y2K is that we can anticipate problems and act accordingly to either prevent disasters, or at least to minimize the damage. Had we done nothing to prepare it surely would have been at least a financial disaster.

Another example is the cold war. It took the best efforts of many brilliant men and women to prevent an inadvertant escalation of events that could have easily led to nuclear war.

We can only address the problems that we are willing to confront. Hiding and living in denial never solved any problem.

Despair and denial are the real enemies; the rest is just a problem to be solved.
 
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Ivan Seeking said:
Funny thing about Y2K: One or some of the fixes used to correct some military computers caused part of our defenses to go blind, leaving us completely vulnerable to a nuclear missile attack. IIRC, the systems were offline for about 7 hours.
They arent built in a redundant way?:eek::eek:
 
Anttech said:
They arent built in a redundant way?:eek::eek:

Redundant systems may have had the same problem...? I only know that this was made public a few years ago, and for a time, to some extent we were blind to attack. I keep thinking that this applied to the West Coast of the US.

But who needs redundant systems anyway? That's just fear mongering. :biggrin:
 
Redundant systems may have had the same problem
Yeah, so you patch one, leaving the other as is. The when the all clear is given on the recently patched system, patch the other. Thus you never have a black hole in your service :smile:

Doesnt the Military use a decent Change Management System? hehe
 
This appears to be the same incident, but the report that I heard indicated that this was only made public later, so I'm not 100% sure about this.

The most significant Y2K-related glitch came from the Pentagon, where the Defense Department reported early Saturday that one of its satellite-based guidance systems failed to properly adjust to the date change.

Officials said the satellite was down for several hours shortly after the rollover of Greenwich Mean Time, or 7 p.m. EST Friday.

Deputy Defense Secretary John Hamre said the problem was "significant" and involved a ground station that processes information from some spy satellites.

"For a period of several hours we were not able to process information from that system," Hamre said.

A backup system was put in its place. The system is functioning properly although a little bit slower than normal, according to the Pentagon.
http://archives.cnn.com/2000/US/01/01/y2k.wrap/

So may be that the delay was the time needed to bring back-up systems online.

...oh, I bet that it was the seriousness of the situation that was made public later.
 
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Here is somebody who must be encouraged strongly to sign up for membership. It may not be too late.

http://environment.independent.co.uk/climate_change/article2609305.ece

Global warming 'is three times faster than worst predictions'
 
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Ivan Seeking said:
The real lesson with Y2K is that we can
... overreact and waste colossal sums, thereby diverting resources from ongoing problems.
 
In Connecticut, the DMVs couldn't register new cars, because the computer system insisted all models after 1900 weren't built yet.

(Go figure out WHY they would have the computer check the model's year against the current year :rolleyes: )

But the point is, an error like that can grind the economy to a halt!
 
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Office_Shredder said:
In Connecticut, the DMVs couldn't register new cars, because the computer system insisted all models after 1900 weren't built yet.

(Go figure out WHY they would have the computer check the model's year against the current year :rolleyes: )

But the point is, an error like that can grind the economy to a halt!

Id say the point is errors like that did and do occur from time to time and the economy did not, gasp, grind to a halt. People deal.